"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future," Jeremiah 29:11 (Bible).
I believe these promises of God concerning me. Who am I? I'm an imperfect vessel who has found grace in God's sight. I like to help and encourage others. I am learning to put faith and love into action. Welcome to my blog. Let's learn together!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

In a bid to get a good price for a taxi ride from Ogba to Ikeja the other day, I told the driver to stop overcharging me because he assumed I have money. After successfully beating the price to a reasonable amount, I hopped in for the short ride.

I remembered that I had snacks in my purse. So I brought it out and started munching on it.

Then the driver started his story.

He said he picked a lady up some weeks back and that she was a very cheerful fellow. For everything she bought --from Gala to IceCream, she bought some for him as well.

Oh. Sorry. Please, have some. I offered him the half-eaten snacks.

He refused the offer and said he wasn't referring to what I was eating. He said he was just trying to have a conversation.

Anyway, he continued.

He dropped the lady off and was about to speedoff when she pleaded with him to wait. He didn't tell me if he charged her extra. But he waited. Patiently in front of the Opebi home where the lady was visiting her boyfriend.

She came out a few minutes later, according to him, disappointed. Her boyfriend was not home.

To cut the long story short. The lady confided in the taxi driver. She told him her boyfriend was a multi millionaire. But he was too tight fisted. She wished he would spend more on her.

That was how Baba taxi driver said he offered to help. He told her where and when to meet him. According to his version of the story, the lady came to his house and he gave her a ring and other items to rub whenever she was going to meet her boyfriend.

It worked. He said.

A few weeks later the lady testified to him that the boyfriend has signed 500k cheque in her name. A gift he has never given her before.

The taxi driver cum "Babalawo" said she generously gave him 25k as appreciation for his help.

He encouraged her to keep "rubbing the ring".

A few months later he was told by the lady that her boyfriend was sponsoring her "abroad". She again bought expensive things for him upon her return.

The taxi driver then suggested I try him. It is not good for beautiful ladies in Lagos to be walking around broke. It was then I realised my error. My "araroro" gave the baba an impression that I was another Lagos hustler.

Okay. I said to him. You have told your own story. Let me share mine.

Then I started to narrate how I experienced God's redemptive power and grace. The whole time I was speaking Yoruba. I ran words backward and mixed it with English. At the end of the day, I made my point.

Money is not everything. It is overwhelming to keep hearing strange things people do to make money, and more money.

The baba's magic ring will fail one day.

The only power I know that never fails is the name of Jesus.

I ended my story.

Are you a Christian? I asked him.

His response almost sounded like, "I am a certified christian." He called the name of the group he belongs.

Who am I to judge? The Lord knows those who are His.

The point of this story? We need to rid ourselves of every timidity hindering us from making our faith public.

Take me back seven months ago or so, I probably will just giggle at his story and give him a "high five" for being a brilliant marketer.

But as I listened to him, I realized it is about time we all also learn to counter such satanic advertisement with the goodnews of Christ. No one is perfect right? But God's love must never be kept secret.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27King James Version (KJV)

"I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

What She Told God...And His Response

"She told God she wanted to fly. To escape every limitation placed on her from birth. To soar to places unimagineable to her ancestors. To reach for the stars and land on her dreams. She told God she wanted to create. To build legacy and transform everything she touched. To inspire generations to come and to nurture the visions of prophets yet to be born. To generate change with her mere words. She told God she wanted to love and trust unconditionally. To be the answer to every prayer he had ever prayed and the manifestation of every fantasy he had convinced himself would never come to pass. To be the breath of fresh air he had never sat still long enough to take in. And God told her that eyes had not seen nor ears heard what was to come for her."

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In Days To Come: a collection of poem

Published 2004

The Review of "In Days To Come"

Jennifer is a remarkable young lady. Living in a country that she truly loves, yet recognizing the many problems as well. From her young mind she reaches out through her poetry hoping that her messages will reach out to educate, but even more so, to offer hope.

Jennifer does not write in rhyming verse or strict form, preferring the freedom to express her innermost thoughts without restriction. Yet poetry it undoubtedly is.

Many have struggled to define poetry, in the same way that many struggle to define art. Poetry paints with words and expressions and as such can be both art and craft.

I believe that if Jennifer’s words move you, then she has expressed both her art and her craft.

Finally, we have tried to avoid making changes to her writing, except perhaps for a few proof reading corrections. We hope by this you will capture not only the words, but (also) the essence of Jennifer’s culture that shines through her poetry.

Philip G. Bell

Editor,

Young Poet Society.

The job of the poet Is to leave stains of the storms Yet echo laughter of the light That is seen from the soul. . . . The job of the poet Is to . . .capture And to spirit and to script The pulse of life.﻿ From “Duties as Designed” in Reflections of a Peacemaker: A Portrait Through Heartsongs, page 5. The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs

Followers

Psalm 119:9-12

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.

I surrender

show me a waya channel, a routethrough which I could reachout to this hurting worldand wipe out that tears rolling down her cheeks

I know, I knowI must tread only on that path I know wellelse I cramp my style with stinking gibberish

My wallet is flat tonightplease don't count on thatStill this urge to belongan undiluted desire to serveyearns so loudly I can hold back no more

I surrenderin total submission my heart cryHere I am, use me lover of my soulto be a helping hand in my societyto learn to give without asking for a refundto able to influence others into aiming for the bestnever to try playing god over my peersto you my king I obediently surrender.

Feedjit

Isaiah 60:1-3 (Amplified Bible)

1ARISE [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you--rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!

2For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you.

3And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

He Promised...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

About Me

Jennifer is a tech savvy Journalist, a vivacious volunteer and an avid blogger who is keen about using the new media as a tool to disseminate information, collaborate and stir up progressive interaction. She is described as one of the next generation of communicators by Georgetown University’s GAIN's Center for Social Impact Communication (CSIC). Jennifer currently serves as a freelance senior reporter and media trainer.
Between 2009 and 2010, she served in Washington D.C as an Atlas Corps Fellow. She was also recently granted the International Reporting Project (IRP) 2013 New Media Fellowship to report on global health and development in Nigeria.
In November 2010, she was awarded the LEAP Africa Nigerian Youth Leadership Award for her work as an outstanding Nigerian youth leader.
A graduate of Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Jennifer believes God created Youth for a purpose and thus should not be wasted in frivolity. Her published books include, “In Days To Come” (2004), "Preserving My Saltiness" (2011) and "Half a Loaf & a Bakery" (2013).
Favourite quote: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.